Power can be understood from different theoretical frameworks, but one of the most useful and common approaches is that of Social Power. Power then, is the capacity to compel others. The means to do so and the sources one wields to assert power vary greatly. In Real Life, it can range from money to physical might and everything in between. In fiction, Magic and Powers and different kinds of Applied Phlebotinum are added to the mix. The key to something being a source of power is how much society puts stock into it.
There are undoubtedly some objective menaces such as physical strength, weapons, or magic, but their use in threatening still depends on how society perceives them. This is the reason why silly powers are often underestimated and much less sought/desired than powers regarded as cool.
Other kinds of power such as money, social status, and political power are dependant on societal structures. Social status, in particular, can take a nearly unlimited amount of shapes — gender roles, race supremacy, number of internet followers, academic standing, etc. As for money, well, its value is entirely imaginary if one stops to think about it. History has seen shells, bits of metal, and paper sheets used as currencies. Yet, you cannot eat them and their shape is often useless to be hunting tools or weapons. Money works because so many human beings believe it's valuable and, thus, exchange it to get a hold of more concretely useful stuff.
Is there any doubt why Power Tropes are so many and so varied?
This is an index about Power, items of Power, those with Power, and all of what Power entails. Contrast Weakness Tropes.
Tropes:
- 11th-Hour Superpower: A new superpower at the last minute.
- Absurd Cutting Power
- Abusing the Kardashev Scale for Fun and Profit
- Adaptational Superpower Change
- Almighty Idiot
- Amulet of Concentrated Awesome
- Arbitrary Gun Power
- Awesomeness Is a Force
- Awesomeness Is Volatile: Awesomeness leads to explosions.
- Bad Powers, Bad People
- Bad Powers, Good People: A good-aligned person with cruel or morally questionable powers.
- Balance of Power
- Bequeathed Power
- BFG: Big fucking gun.
- BFS: Big fucking sword.
- Bio-Augmentation
- Breakable Power-Up
- By the Power of Grayskull!: Something you shout to activate your superpowers.
- Cannibalism Superpower
- Cards of Power
- Celestial Paragons and Archangels
- Charles Atlas Superpower: Near-superhuman abilities achieved through intense training.
- Chunky Updraft: Chunks of debris float around a powerful character/force.
- Clock of Power
- Clothes Make the Superman: Powers from clothes.
- Cosmic Power
- Cower Power
- Crater Power: Powerful characters create craters under them.
- Crown of Power
- Cutscene Power to the Max
- Dangerous Super-Powered Patient
- Death by Depower
- Demon Lords and Archdevils
- De-power
- De-Power Zone
- Dimension Lord: An entity in charge of a dimension.
- Disability Superpower
- Drunk with Power: Getting more power can make you overbearing or even evil.
- Elemental Powers
- Evil Overlord
- Evil Power Vacuum
- Eyepatch of Power
- Field Power Effect
- Floating Mask
- Gloved Fist of Doom
- Glowing Eyes
- God
- A God Am I: Delusions of godhood.
- Godhood Seeker: Aspiring to become a deity.
- God Test: Asking a supernatural entity to prove that they're supernatural.
- Good Powers, Bad People
- Great Bow: An enormous bow and its enormous arrows.
- Hamster-Wheel Power
- Hand Cannon
- Hat of Power
- Hour of Power: Superpowers with a time limit.
- Hybrid Power
- Immunity Disability
- Infinity +1 Sword
- In Place of an Eye
- Just Toying with Them
- Lady in a Power Suit
- Lady Legionnaire Wear: Armor with a skirt.
- Last Disc Magic: A very powerful late-game item or ability.
- Last One's Ploy: A member of an endangered species or other category uses this to push others around.
- The Law of Power Proportionate to Effort
- Leotard of Power
- Living Battery
- Magikarp Power: Very weak at first, very strong with enough effort.
- The Man Behind the Man
- Marked Change: Achieving full power creates marks on the user's skin.
- Mask of Power: A superpower-granting mask.
- Menacing Notetaker: His mere recording of events carries the threat of his organization's power.
- Minidress of Power
- Monstrosity Equals Weakness: Monstrous characters are actually less powerful.
- Most Common Superpower: Female superheroes tend to have supernaturally supported breasts.
- Muggle Power
- New Ability Addiction
- New Life in Another World Bonus
- New Powers as the Plot Demands
- New Super Power
- Next Tier Power-Up
- No Man Should Have This Power
- No Power, No Color: Running out of power causes someone/something to turn gray.
- Oathbound Power
- The Omnipotent
- Otherworldly Innocents
- Our Gods Are Different
- Parabolic Power Curve
- Personality Powers: Powers befitting their users' personalites.
- Petal Power
- Pent-Up Power Peril
- Physical God
- Physical, Mystical, Technological
- Place of Power
- Planet Destroyer
- Popularity Power
- Position of Literal Power
- Power Ballad
- Power Born of Madness
- Power Creep, Power Seep
- Power Crystal
- Power Degeneration
- Power Dyes Your Hair: Supernatural powers cause hair to change color.
- Power Dynamics Kink
- Power Echoes
- Powered Armor
- Powered by a Forsaken Child
- Powered by Potato
- Power Equals Rarity
- Power Fantasy
- Power Fist
- Power Floats
- Powerful and Helpless
- Power Gives You Wings
- Power Glows: Emitting light due to sheer power.
- Power Hair: Women in politics with short hair.
- Power Harness
- Power High
- Power Incontinence: Poor control over one's powers.
- Power is Sexy
- Powerless at Christmas
- Power Levels
- Power Limiter
- Power Loss Depression
- Power Makes Your Hair Grow
- Power Makes Your Voice Deep
- Power Misidentification
- Power Nullifier
- The Power of Apathy
- The Power of Blood
- The Power of Creation
- The Power of Friendship
- The Power of Hate
- The Power of Love
- Power of the God Hand
- The Power of Sisterhood
- The Power of the Sun
- Power of the Void
- Power of Trust
- Power Perversion Potential
- Power Returned Stronger
- Powers Do the Fighting
- Power Stable
- Power Tattoo
- Power Trio
- Power-Up: A temporary new ability in a video-game, usually obtained from finding an item.
- Power-Up Food
- Protagonist Power-Up Privileges
- Purple Is Powerful: The color purple used to represent powerful or supernatural things.
- Pyramid Power
- Radiation-Induced Superpowers
- Random Power Ranking
- Reality Warper
- Required Secondary Powers: Secondary abilities a character naturally must have in order for their superpowers to work safely and correctly.
- Re-Unlocking Power: A character has an ability or level of strength that they can't use willy-nilly; they have to do something to gain the ability to use it.
- Ring of Power
- Self-Made Superpowers
- Sensing You Are Outmatched
- Simple, yet Awesome
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil
- Sphere of Power
- Standard Power-Up Pose
- Star Power
- Stock Light-Novel Calamity Princess
- Stock Light-Novel Hero
- Story-Breaker Power
- Superpower Evolution
- Superpower Lottery: An extreme range in the strength/utility of superpowers among characters.
- Super-Power Meltdown
- Superpower Russian Roulette: As Superpower Lottery, but some of the "superpowers" are net detriments.
- Super-Soldier
- Super Weight
- Swirling Dust: Dust swirling around a powerful character.
- A Taste of Power
- Team Power Walk
- Teased with Awesome
- Theme Music Power-Up
- Timed Power-Up: As Hour of Power, but specifically for power-ups in video games.
- Token Super
- Token Wizard
- Underwear of Power
- Uniqueness Decay
- Unstable Powered Child
- Unstable Powered Woman: Female supers tend to have unstable powers, often due to emotion.
- Virgin Power
- Weaker in the Real World
- Wind Turbine Power
- With Great Power Comes Great Hotness
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity
- With Great Power Comes Great Opposition
- With Great Power Comes Great Perks
- With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
